


Can't start a fire without a spark

by Mother_of_Eevees



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Firefighters, Flirting, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Minor Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:02:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26565538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mother_of_Eevees/pseuds/Mother_of_Eevees
Summary: Kuroo is taken to the hospital after being injured while fighting a fire. Tsukishima worries, remembering how they met and moments from their relationship.
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei, Tsukishima Kei & Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 2
Kudos: 50
Collections: Luna & Noir: KuroTsuki Fest 2020





	Can't start a fire without a spark

Tsukishima was napping when his phone rang. He squinted at the phone and saw that Yamaguchi was calling, which was a little odd because he was supposed to be at work. 

“Yamaguchi, what’s going on?” 

Silence, followed by a shuddering breath that almost sounded like a sob. He sat up, fully awake now, and slipped his glasses on.

“Tadashi, talk to me. What happened?”

“There was a flashover and Kuroo and Bokuto and a few other guys got caught up in it – they’re on their way to Tokyo General,”

Tsukki swore under his breath.

“Are you ok?”

“I’m fine – I’ve got to go, but I wanted to let you know,”

“Thank you, Tadashi. Be careful out there,”

Tsukishima got dressed and ran to the train station. Akaashi called just before his train arrived.

“I’m on my way, be there in 15. Where are you?” 

“I’m on a train, I should be there around the same time as you,”

“Wait in the lobby for me – there should be someone from the station waiting for us,”

Once on the train, Tsukishima closed his eyes and was flooded with memories of Kuroo.

“Could I trouble you for a bandage? I got a scrape and want to make sure it doesn’t get infected.”

Tsukishima reached into the unit and pulled out a spare bandage.

“Thanks! Hey, you wouldn’t happen to have any Strawberry Shortcake ones? Those are my favorites,”

“Hmm, let me look,” he said, patting his pocket and rolling his eyes, “so sorry, no can do!”

“Wait, is that Kuroo-san?” Reon said. “Here, take this,” He reached into a small compartment and pulled out a box of Strawberry Shortcake bandages.

“Ah, Reon-kun, you’re a lifesaver!” He pulled out a bandage, tossed the box back to Reon, and winked at Tsukishima. “Just what I needed. I don’t think I’ve seen you before,”

“Tsukishima Kei, paramedic. I used to be at Hibiya Station,”

“Right, I remember Bokuto telling me about you! Nice to meet you – I’m Kuroo Tetsurou. Are you coming to midweek happy hour?”

“Yamaguchi will probably drag me there anyway if I don’t, so I suppose I am,”

“Then I’ll see you there,” Kuroo said with a wink as he walked away.

Later that week, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were at happy hour with some of their friends from the academy.

“Look, the lieutenants are here, now it’s a party,” Yamaguchi said, pointing to Bokuto and Kuroo. Kuroo was talking animatedly to another firefighter from the station. Bokuto had his arm around someone Tsukishima didn’t recognize, a tall and handsome man about his age.

“Who’s that?” he asked Yamaguchi, nodding at Bokuto and the stranger.

“That’s the lieutenant’s boyfriend, Akaashi Keiji,” Yamaguchi answered, finishing his beer and refilling it from the pitcher on the table. “He’s a writer or something,”

“Hm. Interesting. I’m going to grab another drink – want anything?” Yamaguchi shook his head, and Tsukishima headed over to the bar.

“What are you drinking tonight?” purred a voice next to him as he waited for his order.

“White Russian. You?”

“Whisky ginger. How do you like your new assignment so far?”

“Are you asking as a commander or just out of curiosity?”

“A little of both,” Kuroo admitted. 

“I asked to transfer because Yamaguchi and I have been friends since elementary school, but also because I heard good things about the lieutenants,”

Kuroo’s eyes glittered with interest. “Oh really? Like how handsome and clever we are?”

Tsukishima put his hand to his chin in mock contemplation. “No, I don’t recall anyone saying that, but they did say that they ran their station well,”

Kuroo pretended to pout, but then grinned. “I suppose that makes up for not being called beautiful,” he said, taking a large swallow of his drink.

“Now, I have another question for you,”

Tsukishima cocked his head and raised an eyebrow at him. “Yes?”

“Will you have dinner with me this weekend?”

_A few months later…_

“Let me guess, you need a Strawberry Shortcake bandage again,”

“Actually I was hoping for a Pokemon this time,”

“Of course,” He rolled his eyes and pulled one out of his pocket. “I keep a selection for good boys and girls, after all,”

“And what do you have for bad boys?” he said with a smirk.

“Ask me after work and I’ll show you,”

Tsukishima and Kuroo’s schedules didn’t usually overlap, so when he got the opportunity to work the same shift as Kuroo, he took it. It was a quiet day; after a couple of uneventful calls, the station got quiet and the crew took the opportunity to make sure the ambulance was fully stocked. 

Kuroo poked his head in the back of the ambulance as Tsukishima was working. “After lunch, we’re doing run-throughs if you want to watch,”

Tsukishima hummed in agreement and went back to his restocking.

The firefighters pulled up chairs, Kuroo stood in front of a big whiteboard. “Good afternoon, class,” he said jokingly. “Good afternoon, Kuroo-sensei,” the older firefighters responded teasingly. The newer ones looked on, a bit bewildered.

“Right,” he says, suddenly serious. “Today we’ll go over the mayday protocol, something I hope you’ll never have to use,” and off he went into a half-hour lecture/dialogue, recapping emergency procedures, the importance of checklists, and then announced a mayday drill, to be conducted in the next two weeks.

“You’re very patient with them,” Tsukishima said later. “Isn’t that all stuff from the firefighting academy?”

“It’s one thing to learn it at the academy, but the real world is different. If they practice it now, in a lower-stress situation, it’ll be easier for them to react correctly if and when the time comes,”

_October_

“I feel completely ridiculous in this outfit, just so you know,” Kei said, adjusting the frilled cuffs on his shirt, then fluffing his cravat.

“At least you’re wearing a shirt,” muttered Kuroo, who was naked from the waist up except for a pair of oversized fireman’s gloves and a strap that wrapped around his deltoid and across to the other shoulder. “These pants and boots would definitely be against regulations in the real world,”

“Like you didn’t suggest this so you could run around showing off your chest,” Tsukki scoffed. “He does wear other outfits in the movie,”

“Yes, but this is his iconic look!”

“Then you’ll just have to suffer for your art, won’t you?” He stepped back to admire Kuroo’s costume. “It’s surprising how little work your hair needed to make it look like his hairstyle,”

“Speaking of hair, I like that pageboy wig on you, Tsukki, maybe sometime you can wear it when we -”

“If you value your life, do not finish that sentence,”

Kuroo only cackled in response as they headed out the door to the party.

Akaashi was waiting in the hospital lobby. Tsukishima looked around for someone from the department, but didn’t see anyone he recognized.

“Keiji, have you heard from anyone?”

“No, have you?”

“I got a call from Yamaguchi that they were being transported here. Let me make a call and see what I can find out,” Just as he started dialing, he saw Captain Kita Shinsuke heading towards them.

“Thank you for coming, Kita-san,” he said. 

“Tsukishima, Akaashi-san. I’ve just spoken to the doctors, and Kuroo-san and Bokuto-san’s injuries are not life-threatening. They’ll probably keep them overnight for observation, but you should be able to see them soon,”

Akaashi let out a quiet sob and Tsukishima sighed in relief.

“Can you tell me anything more about the incident?” he said, stepping a few paces away from Akaashi so he and Kita could go into more detail.

“There was a flashover, they were in the process of leaving the building and they were caught in the flame. Fortunately, their gear protected from the worst of it. There will, of course, be an investigation,”

“Thank you, Captain. I’ll let you get back to the others,” Tsukishima said. 

A couple of hours later, Yamaguchi showed up with a big container of onigiri. 

“Have you eaten? Atsumu’s brother sent a bunch of these to the station and I figured you’d probably be hungry,” Akaashi reached in and took two, and even Tsukishima, a notoriously light eater, found he was hungry and started nibbling one. 

“Tell me what happened, Tadashi,” he said in between bites. 

“It was a medical building, you know that building near the café we go to sometimes? We got the call, and it was spreading quickly, so there were already a couple of other units there. Bokuto was leading a team up to the second floor, and I heard him say that he could hear hissing and the floor was kind of rumbling, so he ordered everyone out,”

Yamaguchi stopped for a moment and Tsukishima offered him one of the bottles of water that was in the bag. He took a long drink and continued.

“The crew was on the ladder coming down and then everything just blew up. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fireball that big or strong – it came all the way across the street and even burned some of the seats in the fire truck.” Tsukishima raised his eyebrows. 

“Kuroo was outside, but Bokuto and his crew were still inside, so they had to drop and let the fireball go over them. They got out as fast as they could, but their turnout coats were on fire and a couple of them had melted helmets. They pulled off their equipment as soon as they got behind the trucks, I called the mayday, and the paramedics started working on them.”

“You called the mayday?”

“Yes, and it’s a good thing we ran the drills. It was a bit nerve-racking, but we’d all practiced what to do, thanks to Kuroo,”

Tsukishima was dozing. Akaashi was asleep with his head on Tsukishima’s shoulder. Yamaguchi was wide awake, and when the nurse appeared in the doorway, he nudged Tsukishima with his elbow.

“Tsukishima-san, Akaashi-san, your friends are both awake and asking for you,” he said quietly. “Follow me, please,”

They were sharing a room: Kuroo was back by the window, and Bokuto near the door. Tsukishima spared a brief glance at Bokuto and saw that he looked fine before rushing to Kuroo’s side. He pulled the curtain to give them all the illusion of privacy, then leaned down to kiss Kuroo’s forehead and dropped into the chair next to his bed.

They stared at each other for a long moment. Tsukishima held Kuroo's hand to his cheek and stroked it; tears filled his eyes and threatened to spill over, but he blinked fiercely and managed not to sob. He took a deep breath and looked over at Kuroo.

“I don't think even a Pokemon bandage won’t help this time, so I brought the big guns” Tsukishima said, pulling out a handful of princess bandages and Kuroo grinned at him.

“That and a kiss from a handsome prince should get me out of here in no time, then,” he said. Tsukishima rolled his eyes, smiled, and leaned down to kiss him.

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt #5: Firefighter Kuroo, paramedic Tsukishima


End file.
